It’s time to charge electric-car owners a several-hundred-dollar surcharge as part of their annual car registration. And that’s probably a bargain. The current highway infrastructure is financed by gas taxes, which once seemed fair since the more you used the road the more gas you purchased and the more you paid. Now, not only do electric-car owners get to avoid this tax, but they receive driving privileges like free recharges in some garages and use of the HOV lanes as solo drivers.

And it’s only fair to do it now because it has to happen some day as hybrid and electric cars reduce gas consumption (except for those who can’t afford new cars, but who really cares about them, right?). Let people know what their true costs are going to be up front.

Todd Lowenstein

San Jose

Driver’s license bill undermines rule of law

Some are celebrating the passage of AB60, the bill that allows illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses. There’s nothing to celebrate here. The bill undermines the rule of law and our social order.

Gov. Jerry Brown is promising to sign a bill that provides an accommodation to people who have broken the law.

Most citizens have been conditioned not to speak out on this issue for fear of being labeled a racist or a xenophobe. I do not carry that fear.

My objection is based on the clear belief and recognition that it is a dangerous thing when a legislative body passes a “rule” that undermines the law.

The notion that someone who has entered the country illegally can enjoy societal rights and privileges intended for legal residents defies logic and common sense.

Pete Campbell

San Jose

Plan Bay Area sets us in the right direction

Plan Bay Area is a wonderful example of regional planning and a cutting-edge showcase of modernity. Developing high-density housing near public transportation is the wave of the future — it’s here to stay.

The alternative is urban sprawl, and that is last century’s mistake.

Demographic facts demand this change.

According to the U.S. Census as analyzed by the Bipartisan Policy Institute, household size fell 21 percent between 1960 and 1990. By the 2010 Census, of the 117 million U.S. households, only 23 million, or 20 percent, were comprised of adults with children. Aging baby boomers and young millennials desire smaller living areas near public amenities.

The trend toward high-density, transit-oriented development is driven by public demand and developers working to fill it. Government agencies are devising regional planning models to accommodate this inevitable transition.

San Mateo and Santa Clara counties’ residents are now more diverse, requesting a wider variety of housing. Fortunately, Plan Bay Area was adopted July 18, so we can better meet the comprehensive needs of today’s and tomorrow’s citizens.